IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic

The percentage of overweight children in western society has increased by almost 20% in the last ten years.Discuss the causes and effects of this disturbing trend.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

In recent times, childhood obesity has become an issue in the western world , as it has increased by 20% in the last decade. In this essay, I will shed some light on the factors contributing to this problem and will also suggest some solutions for the same.

There are several reasons for pediatric obesity. Firstly, the widespread use of junk food as an alternative to healthy diet is one of the prominent causes. One good illustration of this, is the growing popularity of fast food chains and their increasing availability in most of the cities and towns in the western world. Secondly, it is also possible to say that the sedentary lifestyle adopted by many western families has affected their children, and this problem is significantly augmented by the children’s lack of exercise. Finally, although not a major cause , but the lack of parental control over the amount of time their children spend playing video games is also a contributing factor to childhood obesity.

However, solutions are available to tackle this problem. Firstly, schools should focus a great deal more on physical education programs. In fact, a recent study carried out in a group of primary schools in Sydney has concluded that, spending 30 minutes a day performing various physical activities by students has significantly reduced obesity among them by 25% in one year. Another possible solution is to encourage parents to restrict the amount of time allowed to their children for playing video games. A particularly good example here is the various applications which are released by consoles and personal computer operating systems used by parents to help organize their children`s schedule.

Thus, even though, childhood obesity is a growing problem in the western world, mainly caused by eating fast food, lack of physical activity and excessive video gaming, these problems are not insurmountable; since, schools and parents are able to solve these problems, and they could should start by considering the solutions suggested above.